Presby-Musings

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, Independence Day---the 241st birthday of these United States of America. On July 4, 1776, fifty-six Americans signed the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.  It was, for all intents and purposes, an act of treason.  We celebrate the Fourth of July with great fanfare, but no one lights a firecracker or grills a rack of ribs to commemorate the Fifth of July---the day that really  mattered for those signers of the Declaration.   You see, the Fifth of July was the day when all of those signers woke up and realized that they had to actually do something about independence.  They had made their declaration, but a declaration in and of itself holds very little weight if nothing happens after making it.   I find the same thing to be true about following Jesus.  Lots of people make declarations that they are followers of Jesus, but it's what follows those declarations that demonstrates where their heart tr...

My best memories of the 4th of July have to be the days when I was in middle school and I went on vacation to visit my mom's family in Greenville, SC. Fireworks were/are legal in SC and not in FL where I lived/live.  This would account for all of the fireworks stands in SC & GA on the interstate that leads in and out of FL.  I am not sure why I am abbreviating the names of these states, but there you go.  I remember one summer we went to the fireworks store in Greenville prior to the 4th.  I was given the green light by my mom to spend a certain amount of money on explosives.  This is the kind of green light that every middle school boy wants to receive.  Between all of my cousins we obtained enough fireworks to blow up a small car or a shed.  It was a lot of fireworks. As soon as it was dark we commenced setting off bottle rockets, Roman candles, spinners, fountains, Black Cats and M-80's.  It was magical.  In a moment of infinit...